1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly to a method and device for searching for a telephone number stored in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
To make an outgoing call using a mobile terminal, a user has to directly input a telephone number of an intended recipient or search for the telephone number in a phonebook stored in the mobile terminal by inputting a keyword such as the recipient's name. However, the user is likely to enter a wrong digit in case where the telephone number has a length of ten or eleven digits. To search for a telephone number in the phonebook of the mobile terminal, the user has to perform the multiple steps of selecting a menu for a telephone number search, inputting a keyword such as a name of an entity whose telephone number is desired to be detected and then pressing a search key. Alternatively, the user can search every telephone number stored in the phonebook until the desired telephone number is detected. Elderly people who are not accustomed to key pressings on a mobile terminal may have difficulty in searching for a telephone number by inputting a keyword such as a name. When the user remembers only part of a desired telephone number, he or she may search a list of telephone numbers stored in the phonebook or the telephone numbers temporarily stored as a dialed number identification service to detect the desired telephone number. Although certain mobile terminals have a function enabling a user to search for a telephone number using the last four digits of the telephone number, the function is not useful when the user does not remember each of the last four digits and their proper order.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a simple and convenient method for searching for a desired telephone number stored in a mobile terminal by inputting a part of the telephone number that the user remembers.